Chicago, IL
NEW ADDITIONS ESTIMATING.

## Addition Estimating Built for Chicago's Market Adding square footage in Chicago is not the same job it is in Phoenix or Dallas. You are working with century-old masonry foundations, frost depths that routinely hit 42 inches, and a permitting office that requires detailed construction documents before a shovel moves. Your estimate has to reflect that — or you lose the job to someone who low-balled it, then you watch them come back for change orders. Estimate.Pro is built for contractors running addition work in exactly this environment. You walk the site, capture measurements with the AR measurement tool, and the AI generates a scoped-out, line-item estimate ready to send in a median of 8 minutes. --- ## What Makes Chicago Addition Bids Different **Foundation work is never optional.** The Chicago frost line sits at 42 inches. Any addition that touches grade requires footings at or below that depth. Your estimate must include excavation, form work, and concrete at that depth as a baseline — not as an add-on if the soil report comes back bad. **Chicago Building Department review takes time.** The Department of Buildings requires a permit for any addition that increases the building footprint. Plan review for residential additions typically runs 4–8 weeks for standard over-the-counter review, and longer for projects requiring zoning approval or a variance. That lag needs to be priced into your project timeline and overhead allocation. Leaving it out creates scope disputes before the permit is even issued. **Masonry tie-ins cost more here.** Much of Chicago's housing stock — two-flats, bungalows, coach houses — is brick or brick veneer. Tying a wood-frame addition into an existing masonry wall requires ledger attachment details, flashing, and often a structural engineer's stamp. That engineering fee and the additional labor runs $1,500–$4,500 on a typical single-story rear addition and belongs on every bid that touches a brick wall. **Mechanical extension scope is real cost.** Extending HVAC to a new addition in Chicago means sizing ductwork or a mini-split to handle a heating design day below 0°F. Electrical panels in older Chicago housing stock are commonly 100-amp services that may need upgrade to serve the new square footage. Price the HVAC extension and the panel evaluation as line items, not as TBD. --- ## How Estimate.Pro Works for Addition Contractors **Walkthrough capture.** On supported devices, the ONNX-assisted AR measurement tool reads room dimensions live as you walk. On any device, you can photograph and measure — those measurements are flagged as estimates so the client understands the basis. **AI scope generation.** After capture, Estimate.Pro generates a scope of work covering demolition, foundation, framing, sheathing, roofing tie-in, windows, insulation, drywall, mechanical rough-in, and finish work. You review and adjust; you do not build from a blank template. **Your cost data, not a black box.** Estimate.Pro uses a saved material cost workspace. Your actual Chicago supplier pricing goes in once. Every estimate pulls from your numbers, not a national average that doesn't reflect what Menards or your local lumber yard is charging this week. **Send without the back-and-forth.** The finished estimate exports as a professional document. On Pro and Elite plans, Stripe Connect is available for deposit collection. Elite tier includes invoice exports for your accounting workflow. The platform fee on Free is 3%; on Pro and above, it is 0%. --- ## Pricing for Addition Contractors Estimate.Pro has a free forever tier — no credit card required, no trial clock running. When your volume justifies it: - **Pro:** $39/seat/month - **Elite:** $79/seat/month — includes Stripe Connect and invoice exports - **Crew:** $399/month flat for teams There is no per-estimate fee and no surcharge for using the AR measurement tools. --- ## Chicago-Specific Scope Items to Price on Every Addition Bid - Chicago frost-depth footings (42-inch minimum) - Chicago Department of Buildings permit fee (calculated on project valuation) - Engineering review if attaching to masonry - HVAC extension sized for sub-zero design conditions - Electrical panel capacity evaluation - Zoning compliance review (setbacks vary by ward and zoning district) Estimate.Pro supports 25 trades. If you are also doing the roofing, siding, or electrical on the addition, you can scope and price those components inside the same job — no separate account, no import/export shuffle. Start your first estimate free at Estimate.Pro.